Method and apparatus for providing a communications service using a low powered radio tag

ABSTRACT

A radio tag comprising a first radio and a second radio and a method for providing a communications service are disclosed. For example, the method comprises entering, by a processor of the radio tag, an active state of the radio tag and activating the second radio when a wake-up signal is received, where the second radio draws power from a power source, transmitting, by the processor of the radio tag, data to a device or receiving the data from the device when the radio tag is in the active state, and deactivating, by the processor of the radio tag, the second radio and entering an idle state when the wake-up signal is no longer being received, where only the first radio draws power from the power source for listening for the wake-up signal in the idle state.

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for providing acommunications service using a low powered radio tag via acommunications network, e.g., a communications network of a networkservice provider, a local area network, and the like.

BACKGROUND

A business may need to track items that the business procures, produces,or distributes. For example, the item may be a product to be sent toanother business or an individual. The tracking may be performed fordetermining current and previous locations of the item. For example, thebusiness may wish to determine the most recent location of the item asthe item traverses a path from a source location to a destinationlocation.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a radio tag, e.g., alow powered radio tag, and a method for providing a communicationsservice. For example, a radio tag is operable to be attached to an item,the radio tag comprising a first radio comprising a first antenna,wherein the first radio is for listening for a wake-up signal in an idlestate, a second radio, coupled to the first radio, the second radiocomprising a second antenna, wherein the second radio is fortransmitting or receiving data, wherein the radio tag operates using acarrier signal in a pre-determined frequency range for communicatingwith a device located within a pre-determined distance from the radiotag, a power source, a processor; and a computer-readable storage mediumstoring a plurality of instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operationscomprising entering an active state of the radio tag and activating thesecond radio when the wake-up signal is received, where the second radiodraws power from the power source, transmitting the data to the deviceor receiving the data from the device when the radio tag is in theactive state, and deactivating the second radio and entering the idlestate when the wake-up signal is no longer being received, where onlythe first radio draws power from the power source.

In another example, a method for operating a radio tag having a firstradio and a second radio is disclosed. For example, the method comprisesentering, by a processor of the radio tag, an active state of the radiotag and activating the second radio when a wake-up signal is received,where the second radio draws power from a power source, transmitting, bythe processor of the radio tag, data to a device or receiving the datafrom the device when the radio tag is in the active state, anddeactivating, by the processor of the radio tag, the second radio andentering an idle state when the wake-up signal is no longer beingreceived, where only the first radio draws power from the power sourcefor listening for the wake-up signal in the idle state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teaching of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network related to the present disclosurefor providing a communications service using a low powered radio tag;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example radio tag of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example radio tag of the present disclosureimplemented on an integrated circuit;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example radio tag and an item;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example schematic diagram of a radio tag of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example gateway server of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of radio tags and gateway serversinteracting in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providing acommunications service for a radio tag via a communications network; and

FIG. 9 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computer suitable for usein performing the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for providing acommunications service using a low powered radio tag via acommunications network, e.g., a communications network of a networkservice provider.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network 100 related to the presentdisclosure for providing a communications service using a low poweredradio tag. For clarity, the radio tag of the present disclosure may bereferred to as a “low powered radio tag” or simply as a “radio tag.” Thecharacteristic of the radio tag of the present disclosure that enablesthe radio tag to be referred to as a “low powered radio tag” is that theradio tag of the present disclosure remains in a low power listeningmode until awakened via a wake-up signal and transmits only after theradio tag is awakened. The low powered listening mode of the radio tagis a mode in which the radio tag conserves energy.

In one illustrative embodiment, the network 100 may comprise radioaccess networks 101 a-101 b, a core network 103, radio tags 105 a-105 c,items 106 a-106 c, and a customer network 112. The network 100 alsocomprises devices, e.g., gateway servers 104 a, 104 b and 104 c, thatare communicatively coupled to a radio access network, e.g., the radioaccess network 101 a or 101 b.

The radio access network 101 a or 101 b may comprise cellular or otherwireless technologies, e.g., Wi-Fi networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE)networks, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, and the like. The core network 103may comprise any number of gateway devices, application servers,routers, switches and databases of a network service provider. Forexample, the core network 103 may comprise a dedicated applicationserver 111 for providing a communications service in accordance with thepresent disclosure, and a database 113. The database 113 may be used forstoring data, e.g., a list of radio tags, a list of gateway servers, andthe like.

The customer network 112 may comprise any type of hardware systems orservers (not shown) of the customer. The customer network 112communicates with the core network 103 via the radio access network 101b. For example, the customer network 112 may receive data from radiotags 105 a-105 c via a gateway server that transmitted the wake-upsignal to the radio tag, a respective radio access network through whichthe gateway server communicates with the radio tag, and the corenetwork.

The gateway servers 104 a-104 c may comprise any type of hardwaresystems or servers for providing a radio communication with the radiotags. A gateway server 104 a, 104 b or 104 c communicates with a radiotag when the radio tag is located within a pre-determined distance fromthe gateway server, e.g., within 20 feet, 25 feet and the like. In turn,the gateway servers 104 a-104 b may communicate with the core network103 via the radio access network 101 a. The gateway server 104 ccommunicates with the core network 103 via the radio access network 101b.

The radio tags 105 a-105 c comprise low powered radio tags of thepresent disclosure that will transmit information when awakened via awake-up signal from a gateway server that is located within thepre-determined distance from the radio tag. The item 106 a, 106 b or 106c may be an item that is being tracked, e.g., a pallet, a box and thelike. The item 106 a comprises an object on which the radio tag 105 a isplaced, the item 106 b comprises an object on which the radio tag 105 bis placed, and the item 106 c comprises an object on which the radio tag105 c is placed. In turn, when the item 106 a, 106 b or 106 c is withinthe pre-determined distance of a gateway server 104 a, 104 b or 104 c,the respective radio tag 105 a, 105 b or 105 c will receive a wake-upsignal from the respective gateway server located within thepre-determined distance from the item. The radio tag and the gatewayserver located within the pre-determined distance of each other may thenestablish a communication. For example, the communication may beestablished such that data is retrieved from the radio tag and/orprovided to the radio tag. For instance, the gateway server may receivedata from the radio tag attached to the item located within thepre-determined distance of the gateway server.

In one embodiment, data that is retrieved from the radio tag isforwarded to the core network 103. For example, the gateway server mayforward the data to the core network 103 and the data may be stored in adatabase 113. In turn, the application server 111 may use the data thatis stored in the database 113 to provide a communications service. Forexample, suppose a customer associated with the customer network 112subscribes to a communications service for receiving data from radiotags attached to items of the customer. For instance, the radio tags ofthe customer may be attached to the items of the customer that are beingtracked. Then, the application server 111 may provide the communicationsservice to the customer based on the data gathered from the radio tagsof the customer.

In another example, suppose the customer subscribes to a communicationsservice that provides data to the radio tags of the customer. Theapplication server 111 may be used for providing the communicationsservice to the customer, such that the service is for enabling data toreach the radio tag via the gateway server. In other words, the gatewayserver may be used for pushing new data to the radio tag or to providean update for data already stored in the radio tag.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example radio tag 200 of the present disclosure.For example, the example radio tag may represent the radio tag 105 a,105 b or 105 c, as described above.

In one embodiment, the radio tag 200 comprises a first radio 201 coupledto a second radio 202, a power source 203, a memory 204, and a processor205. The first radio 201 comprises a first antenna 211 and the secondradio 202 comprises a second antenna 212. It is noted that the radio tag200 may comprise other components. For example, the radio tag maycomprise a component for enabling the radio tag to be associated with orattached to an item to be tracked. In addition, various components ofthe radio tag may be combined, e.g., on an integrated circuit. Forexample, the first radio 201, the second radio 202, the memory 204 andthe processor 205 may be implemented on an integrated circuit.

In one embodiment, the processor 205 may comprise various components forgenerating, transmitting and/or receiving radio signals. For example,the processor 205 may include one or more of: an oscillator circuit forgenerating a radio frequency signal, a modulation and/or demodulationcircuit, a power supply circuit, a radio frequency amplifier circuit, anantenna tuner circuit, and the like.

In one embodiment, the first radio 201 is for listening for a wake-upsignal and the second radio 202 is for data traffic. For example, thefirst antenna 211 may be used for receiving the wake-up signal and thesecond antenna 212 may be used for transmitting and receiving the datatraffic.

In one embodiment, the radio tag operates using a carrier signal in apre-determined frequency range for communicating with a device, e.g., agateway server 104 a, 104 b or 104 c, located within a pre-determineddistance from the radio tag. In one embodiment, the pre-determineddistance comprises a distance for a short-range wireless communication,e.g., a pre-determined distance of about 20-30 feet. For example, thetransmitter (e.g., the gateway server) and the receiver (e.g., the radiotag) may be located within 20 feet of each other.

In one embodiment, the pre-determined frequency range comprises a lowfrequency range. In one embodiment, the pre-determined frequency rangecomprises a frequency of the carrier signal being greater than or equalto seventy kilohertz and less than or equal to one hundred and fiftykilohertz. In other words, the low frequency range comprises a frequencyof the carrier signal that is transmitted in a range of 70-150 kHz. Therange of 70-150 kHz is only illustrative and is not a limitation of thepresent disclosure. For instance, a radio tag may receive a wake-upsignal transmitted by a gateway server using a carrier signal within theabove cited range, e.g., a wake-up signal using a carrier signal of 125kHz.

In one example, the wake-up signal that is transmitted using a carriersignal in the low frequency range is detectable by a radio tag locatedwithin the pre-determined distance from the transmitting device (e.g.,the gateway server with a transmitter), where a receiver of the radiotag is designed with sensitivity to detect the carrier signal with apeak voltage within a range of 100-130 microvolts, e.g., about 113microvolts in one embodiment. In other words, the first radio 201 of theradio tag may detect the carrier signal with the peak voltage of about113 microvolts. The carrier signal with a peak voltage of about 113microvolts may be specified in terms of other equivalent units, e.g., as80 μVrms (root-mean-square voltage in microvolts).

It should be noted that the specific values of the peak voltage being113 microvolts and the wake-up signal using the carrier signal of 125kHz are only examples and not intended to be limitations of the presentdisclosure. For example, a receiver may be designed to detect a carriersignal having a lower amplitude.

In one embodiment, the power source 203 may comprise a battery forpowering the radio tag. In one embodiment, the radio tag is a devicethat operates with low power. For example, the radio tag may operatewith a supply voltage in a range of 2.4-3.6V with a current consumptionin the range of 1.5-2.0 μA. Again these ranges are only illustrative.

In one embodiment, the power source 203 may comprise an antenna forharvesting energy from an incoming carrier signal and storing theharvested energy in a battery of the radio tag, e.g., a rechargeablebattery of the radio tag. For example, the power on which the radio tagoperates may be harvested from a carrier signal received from a gatewayserver. An antenna of the radio tag, e.g., antenna 211 or 212, may beused to collect energy from the carrier signal and channel the energytowards an integrated circuit of the radio tag. The antenna 211 or 212may have a surface area that collects enough energy from an incomingcarrier signal to power the radio tag. The energy may then be used toturn the radio tag on and to transmit data to the gateway server, asneeded.

The radio tag of the present disclosure has several advantages forcertain deployment scenarios and implementations. For example, thefrequency range of 70-150 kHz is advantageous for ensuring that thecommunication occurs between a transmitter and a receiver locatedproximate to each other in accordance with the pre-determined distance.In other words, the wake-up signal from the transmitter of the gatewayserver may be detectable only within the pre-determined distance that isappropriate for a short-range wireless communication (e.g., about a 20feet radius) while being significantly attenuated beyond thepre-determined distance (e.g., beyond the 20 feet radius). Thus, awake-up signal intended for one radio tag would not wake-up other radiotags further away from the transmitter of the wake-up signal, therebypromoting power conservation for radio tags that are outside thecommunication range.

In one embodiment, the radio tag of the present disclosure may be usedfor scenarios in which objects that interfere with high frequencysignals may be present between the device transmitting the wake-upsignal (e.g., the gateway server) and the radio tag receiving thewake-up signal. For example, there may be a metallic object that isproximate to the radio tag that may interfere with the radio tag'sability to communicate via a high frequency signal. In contrast, thewake-up signal of the present disclosure, which is transmitted in thelow frequency range, is detectable even when the radio tag is near ametallic surface.

In one embodiment, the radio tag of the present disclosure is physicallycompact. For example, the radio tag may have a volume that is less thanone to two cubic inches. For instance, a compact radio tag may have alength of less than three inches, a width of less than one inch and adepth of less than half an inch. The compactness of the radio tagenables placement of the radio tag in a small physical space. In oneembodiment, the radio tag is embedded in another device. For example,suppose the other device is an item 106 a, 106 b or 106 c that is beingtracked. Then, the radio tag may be embedded in the item that is beingtracked. In one embodiment, the radio tag is flush mounted on a surfaceof an item that is being tracked.

In one embodiment, the radio tag is for an application in which theradio tag operates in an “inactive,” “sleep,” or “hidden from view” modeuntil triggered by a wake-up signal. For example, the radio tag mayoperate only in a low power “listening” mode until the radio tag istriggered by the wake-up signal. The radio tag is said to be in the“inactive,” “sleep,” or “hidden from view” mode when transceivers in thevicinity of the radio tag are unable to detect any signal from the radiotag until the radio tag is triggered by the wake-up signal. When theradio tag is in the low power listening mode, the radio tag monitors fora presence of a carrier signal on an active input channel. The low powerlistening mode is useful for various deployment scenarios whereunnecessary transmissions by the radio tag are disadvantageous. Forinstance, the radio tag may be located at an area where signalinterference is of a concern. For example, the radio tag may be attachedto an item that is being transported on an airplane. In another example,the radio tag may be located near instruments (e.g., in a hospitalroom). In addition to allowing the radio tag to remain hidden from view,the low power listening mode enables the radio tag to remain operationalfor an extended length of time without requiring a maintenance action,e.g., changing of a power source such as a battery.

In one embodiment, the second radio 202 of the radio tag comprises aradio that operates in an Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM)frequency band. The radio that operates in the ISM frequency band may bereferred to as an ISM radio. In one embodiment, the ISM radio (i.e., thesecond radio of the radio tag) may comprise a Bluetooth Low Energy(BTLE) radio, an IEEE 802.15.4 standard based radio (e.g., ZigBee), andthe like. The BTLE radio may also be referred to as a Bluetooth smartradio. The ISM radio may be used for communication over a shortdistance. For instance, the operational distance set between the gatewayserver and the radio tag may be intentionally limited, e.g.,significantly less than 100 feet.

As described above, the radio tag of the present disclosure may be usedfor applications in which the radio tag may remain in the field for anextended amount of time. As such, similar to the wake-up radio, the ISMradio of the present disclosure may also operate with low powerconsumption. For example, the BTLE or ZigBee radio of the radio tag maybe used for communicating with a gateway server while the radio tag isoperating with low power consumption. Moreover, due to the attenuationof the signal between the radio tag and the gateway server, a dataencryption technique may not be needed for most applications. Thereduced need for data encryption and decryption further reduces powerconsumption by the radio tag. Consequently, the battery of the radio tagmay not need to be changed for an extended length of time.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example radio tag 300 of the present disclosureimplemented on an integrated circuit. The radio tag 300 comprises aradio tag of a compact size and is designed with “shaped” edges forallowing the radio tag to be placed in an item in an interlockingmanner. For example, the dimensions of the radio tag may comprise awidth W of less than one inch, a length L of less than three inches anda depth D of less than 0.5 inches. Similarly, the item in which theradio tag is to be placed may have a receiving slot of similardimensions, e.g., slightly larger dimensions, for receiving the radiotag such that the radio tag remains in the receiving slot in aninterlocking manner while the item is moved from one location to anotherlocation. In one embodiment, the shaped edges of the radio tag aredesigned such that the radio tag fits or interlocks with the receivingslot of the item, where the radio tag and the item form an interlockingjoint. When the radio tag is placed in the item, the interlocking jointpermits movement of the radio tag along the depth of the item (e.g., forinsertion or removal of the radio tag), but restricts movement of theradio tag along the width and the length of the item. For clarity, thedepth of the item is defined as being in the same direction as the depthof the radio tag. Similarly, the width of the item is defined as beingin the same direction as the width of the radio tag and the length ofthe item is defined as being in the same direction as the length of theradio tag.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example radio tag 400 and an item 401. The radiotag 400 having the shaped edges (e.g., a combination of curved edges andstraight edges) is operable to be attached to the item 401 forinter-engaging with the item 401. The radio tag 400 has curved edges 403and straight edges 404 and the item 401 has curved edges 405 andstraight edges 406. The curved edges 403 of the radio tag 400 are forinter-engaging with the curved edges 405 of the item 401. Similarly, thestraight edges 404 of the radio tag 400 are for inter-engaging with thestraight edges 406 of the item 401. It is noted that although theillustrative shape of the radio tag 400 resembles a pair of coupledturrets (e.g., alternating semi-circles and straight line portions), theshape of the radio tag 400 can be made into any other interlockingshapes.

In FIG. 4, the radio tag 400 is shown illustratively in position A andin position B. When the radio tag is in position A, the radio tag is notyet placed into the item 401. When the radio tag is in position B, theradio tag is placed into a receiving slot 402 of the item 401.Inter-engaging edges of the radio tag 400 and the inter-engaging edgesof the item 401 form an interlocking joint that only permits movement(e.g., insertion or removal) of the radio tag along the depth of theitem 401 while restricting movement of the radio tag along the width andthe length of the item 401. For example, when the radio tag 400 is inreceiving slot 402 (e.g., as shown in position B), the radio tag may beremoved from the receiving slot by moving the radio tag along the depth.However, the radio tag 400 cannot slide along the length or the width ofthe item 401. Once inserted into the receiving slot 402, the top surfaceof the radio tag 400 is flushed with a top surface of the item 401.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example schematic diagram of a radio tag 500 ofthe present disclosure. For example, the schematic diagram may be forthe radio tag 300 as shown in FIG. 3. The radio tag comprises a firstradio 501 coupled to a second radio 502, and a power source 503. Thefirst radio 501 may comprise at least a first antenna 511 and a singlechannel low frequency wake-up signal receiver 514, e.g., AS3933 of amsAG of Austria. The second radio 502 may comprise at least a secondantenna 512 and a Bluetooth transceiver 513, e.g., nRF51×22 of NordicSemiconductor of Norway. It should be noted that the radio tag 500 asshown in FIG. 5 is only illustrative as to one example as to how radiotag 500 can be implemented, but the specific structure and layout asshown in FIG. 5 should not be deemed as a limitation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example gateway server 600 related to the presentdisclosure. For example, the example gateway server may represent thegateway server 104 a, 104 b or 104 c, as described above.

In one illustrative embodiment, the gateway server 600 comprises a firstradio 601, a second radio 602, a processor 603, an interface 604 forinteracting with a network, and a power source 605. The first radio 601,the second radio 602 and the interface 604 are coupled to the processor603. The power source 605 provides power to any number of components ofthe gateway server. For example, the power source may provide power tothe first radio 601, the second radio 602, the processor 603, and/or theinterface 604. It is noted that any number of power sources may be usedto provide power to various components of the gateway server.

In one embodiment, the first radio 601 comprises a first antenna 611 andthe second radio 602 comprises a second antenna 612, where the firstradio 601 is used for transmitting a wake-up signal to one or more radiotags. In one embodiment, the second radio 602 is used for data traffic.For example, the second radio 602 may be a two-way radio fortransmitting data traffic to the radio tags and/or for receiving datatraffic from the radio tags.

In one embodiment, the processor or processing unit 603 may comprisevarious components for generating and transmitting and/or receivingradio signals. For example, the processor or processing unit 603 mayinclude one or more of: an oscillator circuit for generating the radiofrequency signal, a modulation and/or demodulation circuit formodulating and/or demodulating the data traffic onto or from the carriersignal, a power supply circuit for transforming the modulated signal toa signal of appropriate voltage level for transmission, a power supplycircuit for transforming a received signal to a signal of appropriatevoltage level for processing (e.g., for demodulation and decoding), aradio frequency amplifier circuit for amplifying the radio signal suchthat the radio signal is able to reach receivers, an antenna tunercircuit for transferring power to an antenna without generating astanding wave, and the like.

In one embodiment, the interface 604 for interacting with a network maycomprise: an interface for communicating with a network of acommunications service provider, an interface for communicating with aprivate network (e.g., an enterprise local area network), a modem forproviding a backhauling function to a location of a switch or a routerof a network service provider, an interface to an access network (e.g.,a radio access network), and so on. For example, the interface 604 maybe used for effecting communications between the gateway server 600 anda server in the core network 103, illustrated in FIG. 1. For instance,the interface 604 may be an interface of the gateway server 104 a, 104 bor 104 c.

Returning to the radio tag, the radio tag of the present disclosureoperates in at least two states: an idle state and an active state. Whenthe radio tag is in the idle state, the first radio of the radio tag isturned on and set to a low power listening mode and the second radio ofthe radio tag is turned off. When the radio tag is in the idle state,there is no transmission of data traffic from the radio tag. The radiotag may remain in the idle state for an extended length of time untilthe radio tag is placed near a device that transmits a wake-up signal.For example, the radio tag may reach a location that is proximate to agateway server. When the wake-up signal from the gateway server isdetected, the radio tag enters the active state. When the radio tag isin the active state, the second radio of the radio tag is also turnedon.

For an illustrative example, assume that the radio tag is attached to anitem, e.g., a pallet or a box, that is being moved from location A tolocation B. Suppose there are several gateway servers that transmitwake-up signals to radio tags along the path traversed by the itembetween locations A and B. When the radio tag is located far from all ofthe gateway servers and the radio tag is unable to receive a wake-upsignal from any of the gateway servers, the radio tag remains in theidle state. As the radio tag reaches an area at which the radio tag isable to receive a wake-up signal (e.g., while the first radio is in thelow power listening mode), the radio tag detects the wake-up signal viathe first radio. The wake-up signal may be from any one of the severalgateway servers. Once the wake-up signal is detected, the second radiois then also enabled. For example, the processor of the radio tagenables the second radio and enters into the active state. A radio tagin the active state may communicate with the gateway server to transmitand/or receive data traffic. For example, the radio tag may communicatewith the gateway server from which the wake-up signal is received.Suppose the radio tag exits the area in which the radio tag is able todetect the wake-up signal. Then, the second radio is turned off and theradio tag returns to the idle state. For example, when the radio tag isrelocated to an area in which it is no longer able to detect the wake-upsignal, the radio tag exits the active state, returns to the idle state,and remains in the low power listening mode until another wake-up signalis again detected.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example 700 of radio tags and gateway serversinteracting with each other in accordance with the present disclosure.Radio tags 701-706 are affixed onto items 721-726, respectively, whichare illustrated as a plurality of pallets. In this illustrative example,the pallets 721-726 are moved along a path 750. When item 721 reaches alocation 761, the radio tag 701 receives a wake-up signal from a gatewayserver 751. In turn, the radio tag 701 enters the active state andtransmits data to the gateway server 751. The transmitted data can beany type of data including but not limited to: the origination locationof the pallet, the destination location of the pallet, the type of goodsstored on the pallet, the weight of the goods stored on the pallet, thedate in which the pallet left the origination location, the date inwhich the pallet is to arrive at the destination location, the identityof the owner or sender of the goods stored on the pallet, the identityof the recipient of the goods stored on the pallet, the dollar value ofthe goods stored on the pallet, an expiration date of the goods storedon the pallet, toxicity information associated with the goods stored onthe pallet, transportation information (e.g., rail transportationinformation, trucking information) associated with the goods stored onthe pallet (e.g., companies that were used in transporting the goods),insurance information associated with the goods stored on the pallet,recycling information associated with the goods stored on the pallet,and so on. It should be noted that the above list of different types oftransmitted data is only illustrative and is not a limitation of thepresent disclosure.

Returning to FIG. 7, as the pallet 721 continues moving along the path750, radio tag 701 returns to the idle state. For example, when thepallet 721 reaches location 762, the radio tag 701 returns to the idlestate. Then, when the pallet 721 reaches location 763, the radio tag 701is able to receive another wake-up signal from gateway server 752. Theradio tag 701 again enters into the active state and transmits data tothe gateway server 752. When the pallet 721 reaches location 764, theradio tag 701 is now out of the communication range with gateway server752 and will be unable to receive the wake-up signal. Then, the radiotag 701 will again return to the idle state. It is noted that any numberof the radio tags 701-706 affixed onto the pallets 721-726 may use thesame path 750 and receive a plurality of wake-up signals from thegateway server 751 and/or 752. As each pallet is moved from location 761to location 764, the radio tag attached to the respective pallet entersinto the active state when it receives the wake-up signal and returns tothe idle state when it reaches a location at which the radio tag isunable to receive a wake-up signal. In FIG. 7, the radio tags 701-702and 704-705 are shown as radio tags in the active state because at thelocations at which the radio tags 701-702 and 704-705 are shown in FIG.7, the radio tags 701-702 and 704-705 are able to receive a wake-upsignal either from the gateway server 751 or the gateway server 752.Similarly, the radio tags 703 and 706 are shown as being in the idlestate because the radio tags 703 and 706 are at locations at which theyare unable to receive a wake-up signal. It is also noted that othergateway servers may be provided at various other locations, e.g., at thesource and destination locations of the pallets and the like.

Returning to FIG. 1, it should be noted that the network 100 may includeadditional networks and/or elements that are not shown to simplifyFIG. 1. For example, the radio access network and the core network ofFIG. 1 may include additional network elements (not shown), such as forexample, base stations, border elements, gateways, firewalls, routers,switches, call control elements, various application servers, and thelike. In addition, various types of data may be stored in any number ofdatabases. For instance, various databases, e.g., a database for a listof radio tags that are being monitored or tracked, a database for datagathered from radio tags and/or to be provided to radio tags that arebeing monitored and/or tracked, a database for a list of gateway serversthrough which a radio tag of the present disclosure, a database for alist of customers, a database for a list of network devices in acustomer network to which data received from a radio tag is to beforwarded, may be provided. In addition, the various types of data mayalso be stored in a cloud storage. In other words, the network serviceprovider may implement the service for providing a communicationsservice using low powered radio tags of the present disclosure bystoring the data gathered from the low powered radio tags in a cloudstorage and/or a centralized server.

In one embodiment, the radio tag, e.g., radio tag 105 a, 105 b or 105 c,is used for transmitting data, e.g., monitoring and/or tracking data, toa network via a gateway server. The tracking data refers to data relatedto a physical location, e.g., an address or Global Positioning System(GPS) coordinates. The monitoring data may refer to data related to thelocation but may also be for various data related to the configuration,manufacturer, model, serial number, security protocol, etc., of theradio tag. In other words, the monitoring and/or tracking data mayinclude any type of data stored in the radio tag for transmission to anetwork via a gateway server as discussed above. In one example, sincethe network is aware of the physical location of the gateway server, thetracking may be for determining a location, e.g., a geographicallocation, of the radio tag by using the location of the gateway server.For example, the radio tag communicating with a particular gatewayserver will imply that the radio tag is proximate to the location ofthat particular gateway server. A time stamp recorded when the radio tagis communicating with each gateway server along the path 750 will allowthe network to track the progress of a pallet traversing along the path.The path can be a transportation route such as a railroad track, a road,or a waterway. Similarly, the path could be within an enclosed facilitysuch as a large warehouse and the like.

In one embodiment, the AS 111 is used for providing a communicationsservice to a customer. The customer may be a subscriber to acommunications service for tracking and/or monitoring radio tagsassociated with the customer. For example, a customer Y may attach radiotags to items of the customer Y that are to be monitored or tracked. Thenetwork service provider may gather data from the radio tags attached tothe items of customer Y. The network service provider may then forwardthe data that is gathered to the customer. In one embodiment, the datathat is gathered from the radio tags may be forwarded to the customer,e.g., customer Y, in a pre-determined schedule. In one embodiment, thedata that is gathered from the radio tags may be forwarded to thecustomer upon receiving a query. For instance, the AS 111 may receive aquery from the customer network 112. In turn, AS 111 may provide therequested data to the customer network 112. For example, data stored inthe database 113 that was previously obtained from a radio tag of thecustomer may be forwarded to the customer network 112.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 for providing acommunications service for a radio tag via a communications network inaccordance with the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method800 may be implemented in a radio tag, e.g., radio tag 105 a, 105 b or105 c of FIG. 1, or the processor 902 as described in FIG. 9.

The method 800 may be implemented on any number of radio tags. Forclarity, the flowchart of the example method 800 is described herein forone radio tag. The method 800 starts in step 805 and proceeds to step810.

In step 810, the processor of a radio tag determines whether a wake-upsignal is received. The determination as to whether the wake-up signalis received is made by listening for a wake-up signal via a first radioof the radio tag that comprises a first antenna. The radio tag maydetermine whether the wake-up signal is received while the first radioof the radio tag is in a low power listening mode. For example, theradio tag remains in an idle state until the wake-up signal is received.When the wake-up signal is received, the processor proceeds to step 820.For instance, suppose the first radio of the radio tag is able to detecta wake-up signal from a gateway server located within 20 feet of theradio tag, and the radio tag is 10 feet away from the device, e.g., thegateway server. Then, the wake-up signal is detected and the processorproceeds to step 820. Otherwise, the processor remains in step 810 andthe first radio of the radio tag continues to listen for the wake-upsignal.

In step 820, the processor enters an active state of the radio tag andactivates a second radio that comprises a second antenna of the radiotag. For example, the processor may exit the idle state of the radiotag, power up the second radio, and activate the second antenna which isto be used for transmitting and/or receiving data.

In step 825, the processor transmits data traffic to the gateway serverand/or receives data traffic from the gateway server. For example,suppose there is data stored in the radio tag that is to be transmittedto the gateway server. Then, the second radio of the radio tag is usedto transmit the data to the gateway server. In another example, supposethere is data to be provided to the radio tag by the network serviceprovider via the gateway server. Then, the network service provider maypush the data to the radio tag via the gateway server. In oneembodiment, the second radio of the radio tag comprises a two-way radiofor sending and receiving data traffic.

In step 830, the processor determines whether the wake-up signal is nolonger being received. For example, the radio tag may remain in thevicinity of the gateway server such that the first radio of the radiotag continues to detect the wake-up signal while the radio tag is in theactive state. When the wake-up signal is no longer being received (e.g.,the gateway server is out of communication range), the processorproceeds to step 840. Otherwise, the processor remains in step 830.Thus, as long as the radio tag remains at a location at which thewake-up signal continues to be received, data traffic may continue beingtransmitted/received between the gateway server and the radio tag. Forexample, the radio tag remains in the active state, transmits and/orreceives data using the second radio, and continues listening for thewake-up signal using the first radio to determine whether the wake-upsignal is still being received.

In step 840, the processor deactivates the second radio and enters theidle state. For example, the second radio may be turned off to conserveenergy. The processor then returns to step 810.

In addition, although not specifically specified, one or more steps,functions or operations of method 800 may include a storing, displayingand/or outputting step as required for a particular application. Inother words, any data, records, fields, and/or intermediate resultsdiscussed in the method can be stored, displayed and/or outputted eitheron the device executing the method or to another device, as required fora particular application.

Furthermore, steps, blocks, functions or operations in FIG. 8 thatrecite a determining operation or involve a decision do not necessarilyrequire that both branches of the determining operation be practiced. Inother words, one of the branches of the determining operation can bedeemed as an optional step. Moreover, steps, blocks, functions oroperations of the above described method 800 can be combined, separated,and/or performed in a different order from that described above, withoutdeparting from the example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As such, the present disclosure provides at least one advancement in thetechnical field of communication using a low powered radio tag. Forinstance, in one example, a radio tag of the present disclosuredetermines whether a wake-up signal is received by listening for awake-up signal via a first radio that comprises a first antenna of theradio tag while the radio tag is in a low power listening mode, theradio tag enters an active state and activates a second radio thatcomprises a second antenna of the radio tag when the wake-up signal isreceived, the radio tag transmits data traffic to a gateway serverand/or receives data traffic from the gateway server, and the radio tagdeactivates the second radio and enters the idle state when the radiotag determines that the wake-up signal is no longer being received. Thelistening for the wake-up signal in accordance with the presentdisclosure is performed for detecting a low frequency signal, e.g., asignal in the range of 70-150 kHz. In addition, the radio tag of thepresent disclosure operates with low power and deactivates the antennaused for data traffic while the radio tag is in the low power listeningmode.

In addition, the present disclosure provides at least one advancement intracking and/or monitoring of radio tags. A network service provider mayprovide a service to a subscriber for monitoring and/or tracking of theradio tags. For instance, the network service provider may gather datafrom a radio tag via a gateway server that transmits a wake-up signal tothe radio tag. As described above, the radio tag listens for the wake-upsignal and provides data to the gateway server. The gateway server mayprovide the data gathered from the radio tag to the network serviceprovider. The subscriber may then receive the data from the networkservice provider. This allows the subscriber to leverage the reliablenetwork infrastructure of the network service provider without having tobuild its own network of gateway servers. For example, the networkservice provider may install a distributed network of gateway serversthat may be used to transmit wake-up signals to such radio tags, gatherdata from the radio tags, and store the data that is gathered in adatabase. The data that is gathered from radio tags associated with asubscriber may then be provided to the subscriber. In one embodiment,the data may be provided to the subscriber in accordance with apre-determined schedule. In another embodiment, the data may be providedto the subscriber when the network service provider receives a queryfrom the subscriber.

FIG. 9 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computer suitable for usein performing the functions described herein. As depicted in FIG. 9, thesystem 900 comprises one or more hardware processor elements 902 (e.g.,a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a multi-coreprocessor), a memory 904, e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/or readonly memory (ROM), a module 905 for providing a communications serviceusing a low powered radio tag, and various input/output devices 906(e.g., storage devices, including but not limited to, a tape drive, afloppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compact disk drive, a receiver, atransmitter, a speaker, a display, a speech synthesizer, an output port,an input port and a user input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, amouse, a microphone and the like)). Although only one processor elementis shown, it should be noted that the computer may employ a plurality ofprocessor elements. Furthermore, although only one computer is shown inthe figure, if the method 800 as discussed above is implemented in adistributed or parallel manner for a particular illustrative example,i.e., the steps of the above method 800 or the entire method 800 isimplemented across multiple or parallel computers, then the computer ofthis figure is intended to represent each of those multiple computers.

Furthermore, one or more hardware processors can be utilized insupporting a virtualized or shared computing environment. Thevirtualized computing environment may support one or more virtualmachines representing computers, servers, or other computing devices. Insuch virtualized virtual machines, hardware components such as hardwareprocessors and computer-readable storage devices may be virtualized orlogically represented.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable gatearray (PGA) including a Field PGA, or a state machine deployed on ahardware device, a computer or any other hardware equivalents, e.g.,computer readable instructions pertaining to the method(s) discussedabove can be used to configure a hardware processor to perform thesteps, functions and/or operations of the above disclosed method.

In one embodiment, instructions and data for the present module orprocess 905 for providing a communications service using a low poweredradio tag (e.g., a software program comprising computer-executableinstructions) can be loaded into memory 904 and executed by hardwareprocessor element 902 to implement the steps, functions or operations asdiscussed above in connection with the illustrative method 800.Furthermore, when a hardware processor executes instructions to perform“operations,” this could include the hardware processor performing theoperations directly and/or facilitating, directing, or cooperating withanother hardware device or component (e.g., a co-processor and the like)to perform the operations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructionsrelating to the above described method can be perceived as a programmedprocessor or a specialized processor. As such, the present module 905for providing a communications service using a low powered radio tag(including associated data structures) of the present disclosure can bestored on a tangible or physical (broadly non-transitory)computer-readable storage device or medium, e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAM memory, magnetic or optical drive,device or diskette and the like. Furthermore, a “tangible”computer-readable storage device or medium comprises a physical device,a hardware device, or a device that is discernible by the touch. Morespecifically, the computer-readable storage device may comprise anyphysical devices that provide the ability to store information such asdata and/or instructions to be accessed by a processor or a computingdevice such as a computer or an application server.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and nota limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodimentshould not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

1. A radio tag operable to be attached to an item, the radio tagcomprising: a first radio comprising a first antenna, wherein the firstradio is for listening for a wake-up signal in an idle state of theradio tag; a second radio, coupled to the first radio, the second radiocomprising a second antenna, wherein the second radio is fortransmitting or receiving data, wherein the radio tag operates using acarrier signal in a pre-determined frequency range for communicatingwith a device located within a pre-determined distance from the radiotag, wherein the second radio does not draw power in the idle state ofthe radio tag; a power source; a processor; and a computer-readablestorage medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executedby the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, theoperations comprising: entering an active state of the radio tag andactivating the second radio when the wake-up signal is received, whereinthe second radio draws power from the power source in the active stateof the radio tag; transmitting the data to the device or receiving thedata from the device via the second radio when the radio tag is in theactive state; and deactivating the second radio and entering the idlestate of the radio tag when the wake-up signal is no longer beingreceived, wherein the first radio draws power from the power source inthe idle state of the radio tag.
 2. The radio tag of claim 1, whereinthe radio tag is attached to the item to form an interlocking joint,wherein the interlocking joint permits a movement of the radio tag alonga depth of the item and restricts the movement of the radio tag along awidth and a length of the item.
 3. The radio tag of claim 1, wherein thefirst radio of the radio tag is in a low power listening mode when theradio tag is in the idle state of the radio tag.
 4. The radio tag ofclaim 1, wherein the second radio of the radio tag is completely turnedoff when the second radio is deactivated.
 5. The radio tag of claim 1,wherein the first radio and the second radio are both turned on when theradio tag is in the active state of the radio tag.
 6. The radio tag ofclaim 1, wherein the second radio of the radio tag comprises a radiothat operates in an industrial, scientific and medical frequency band.7. The radio tag of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined frequency rangecomprises a frequency of the carrier signal within a range of 70-150kilohertz.
 8. The radio tag of claim 1, wherein the device comprises agateway server.
 9. The radio tag of claim 1, wherein the carrier signalis detectable by the radio tag only when the radio tag is located withinthe pre-determined distance from the device.
 10. The radio tag of claim1, wherein the pre-determined distance comprises a distance within arange of 20-30 feet.
 11. The radio tag of claim 1, wherein the firstradio comprises a receiver with a sensitivity for detecting the carriersignal with a peak voltage within a range of 100-130 microvolts.
 12. Theradio tag of claim 1, wherein the device provides the data received fromthe radio tag to a network service provider.
 13. The radio tag of claim12, wherein the data is provided to the network service provider in apre-determined schedule.
 14. The radio tag of claim 12, wherein the datais provided to the network service provider upon the device receiving aquery from the network service provider.
 15. The radio tag of claim 1,wherein the power source comprise a battery.
 16. The radio tag of claim1, wherein the item comprises a pallet.
 17. The radio tag of claim 1,wherein the item comprises a box.
 18. The radio tag of claim 1, whereinthe radio tag has a physical dimension that is less than two cubicinches.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing aplurality of instructions which, when executed by a processor of a radiotag having a first radio and a second radio, cause the processor toperform operations, the operations comprising: entering an active stateof the radio tag and activating the second radio when a wake-up signalis received by the first radio, wherein the second radio draws powerfrom a power source in the active state of the radio tag and does notdraw power from the power source in an idle state of the radio tag;transmitting data to a device or receiving the data from the device viathe second radio when the radio tag is in the active state; anddeactivating the second radio and entering an idle state of the radiotag when the wake-up signal is no longer being received, wherein thefirst radio draws power from the power source for listening for thewake-up signal in the idle state of the radio tag.
 20. A method foroperating a radio tag having a first radio and a second radio, themethod comprising: entering, by a processor of the radio tag, an activestate of the radio tag and activating the second radio when a wake-upsignal is received by the first radio, wherein the second radio drawspower from a power source in the active state of the radio tag and doesnot draw power from the power source in an idle state of the radio tag;transmitting, by the processor of the radio tag, data to a device orreceiving the data from the device via the second radio when the radiotag is in the active state; and deactivating, by the processor of theradio tag, the second radio and entering the idle state of the radio tagwhen the wake-up signal is no longer being received, wherein the firstradio draws power from the power source for listening for the wake-upsignal in the idle state of the radio tag.